In recent years, a product managing system is developed that manages locations of management target products by attaching RFID tags to the products and reading information of the tags with a tag reader. The tag reader can read information of plural RFID tags substantially simultaneously in a non-contact manner. Therefore, human burdens required for inventory work can be greatly reduced. There is also an advantage that time required for work can be greatly reduced.
The tag reader can read information from RFID tags present in a reaching area of a radio wave radiated from an antenna. In particular, when a UHF band is used for the radio wave, a reading range of RFID tags by a reader writer is widened. Therefore, even if it is attempted to cause the reader writer to read information of RFID tags of only products placed in a designated area such as a specific shelf or a backyard, if the radio wave is radiated beyond the designated area, the reader writer simultaneously reads information of RFID tags of products placed on the outside of the designated area. In this case, the products placed on the outside of the designated area are also managed as being present in the designated area. For example, the reader writer further reads information of RFID tags attached to commodities arranged on a commodity shelf adjacent to the specific shelf by mistake or, whereas the reader writer should read information of RFID tags attached to commodities arranged in the backyard, the reader writer also read information of RFID tags attached to commodities arranged in a storefront by mistake.
Therefore, in the past, there is known a product managing apparatus including: a position-information input unit configured to input position information for individually specifying plural areas in which products are arranged; a position-information storing unit configured to overwrite, every time position information is input by the position-information input unit, position information stored therein with the input position information and store the input position information; a tag-basic-position storing unit configured to store, for each of RFID tags, in association with each other, identification information peculiar to the RFID tag and position information of an area where a product attached with the RFID tag is arranged; a position determining unit configured to determine whether position information stored by the tag-basic-position storing unit in association with identification information read from an RFID tag by a tag reader coincides with the position information stored by the position-information storing unit; and a reporting unit configured to report, for each of RFID tags from which identification information is read by the tag reader, a determination result by the position determining unit. The product managing apparatus can identify information of RFID tags of products placed in a designated area and information of RFID tags of products placed on the outside of the designated area.
However, the product managing apparatus in the past is complicate because the product managing apparatus has to include in advance, as a unit for storing master information, the tag-basic-position storing unit configured to store, for each of RFID tags, identification information peculiar to the RFID tag and position information of an area where a product attached with the RFID tag is arranged in association with each other.
In view of such circumstances, there is a demand for a product managing apparatus that can manage, even if specific master information is not prepared in advance, the stock of only commodities arranged in a backyard or a storefront or commodities arranged on specific shelves in the backyard and the storefront.